мека мебелGuest blog by David Miller

The definition of hydrology is “A science dealing with the properties, distribution, and circulation of water on the surface of the land, in the soil and underlying rocks, and in the atmosphere.”

So in essence, the hydrology of our land is in reality a life form of it own such as is our own bodily blood system. The disruption of the waters distribution naturally occurring within its environment must surely result in consequences of various levels.

Therefore, one must consider the impact of the currently planned blasting of the deep bed rock on mountain tops across hundreds of miles in Maine for the installation of the thousands of huge commercial wind turbines. It can very well impact and alter the high mountain seeps and springs. Damage to these sources of clean cold water could possibly cumulatively impact even our major aquifers that we depend on for potable water. Consideration must also be given to the possibility of increased levels of naturally occurring hazardous substances being released into the waters by the disruption of the bedrock during blasting. This could result in the possible release of excessive amounts of naturally occurring minerals in the form of sulfides or sulfates, and in some locals where present, substances such as arsenic.

Another concern to be considered is the impact to our wildlife. The cold mountain seeps join each other resulting ever enlarging streams feeding into our brooks and eventually into our rivers and larger bodies of water. The disruption of these sources may result in lesser amounts of runoff and or increased silting, in turn causing increased water temperatures and maybe even result in the very loss of some of our cold water fisheries. At the least, one can envision the loss of some of these waters that are the spawning areas for our world class brook trout and other cold water fish. Hundreds of these small mountain streams are the source of naturally occurring trout which move down into the larger brooks, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes that we fish in. No matter how you look at the possible effects, the results are a loss of a natural resource that Maine currently is a champion of – Brook Trout. Most all other traditional areas of native brook trout within the Continental United States already have been loss as the result of pollutants and destruction of the water source.

The value of clean water to mankind is currently critical in many areas of the world. It must be remembered that Maine is currently one of a few places in the eastern states where one can still kneel down, cup ones hand, and drink pure clean water in thousands of locations. All one has to do is ensure that there are no beaver or dead animals in the upstream side of one’s source of this water. Most any seep or spring on a hill or mountain side is a sure place to acquire a drink of ice cold clean water. The bottled water industry in Maine is here because of our many unpolluted aquifers. As the world sources of potable waters shrink, the value of our resource will escalate.

We have in Maine a very precious resource. If you can’t visualize the true value of our clean waters, you need only to talk to those who have traveled around the world. Just ask some of our military personnel, they are most aware of the value of clean water worldwide. In many locations around the world people are killing each other and even whole communities have perished fighting over potable water sources. In the near future the value of drinkable water will be astronomical compared to other things we value. Just consider the current cost of plain bottled water at your local store when compared to an equal amount of gasoline.

The major issues and controversy about the development of large scale commercial wind power is currently centered on health issues related to low frequency sound and shadow flicker, decreased property values, loss of habitat, death of large numbers of birds and bats, and impact to threatened or endangered species. Just maybe, the largest long term detrimental impact of large scale mountain top wind development is out of sight right under our feet – CLEAN WATER.

Dave Miller
Lexington TWP, ME

Dave Miller is a Maine resident, an outdoor writer and a member of the Carrabassett Valley Trappers Association.

Guest blog by David Miller

Does industrial wind and wildlife really mix well? I would suggest no. There has been much research into the affects of industrial wind turbines and its deadly affect on bats and birds, but little to none on mammals.

The effects on both livestock and wildlife are starting to be realized by land owners, and by hunters and trappers. The effects of wind turbines on domestic animals are thankfully starting to be recorded, such as 100 goats dying in Taiwan because they could not feed. The turbines noise kept them “instinctively on alert” for predators to the point they could not eat. The livestock of an Ontario cattle rancher having many still born and what few calves were born were attacked by their mothers who kicked and bit them, others refused to nurse their young as a result of the affects of newly installed industrial size wind turbines. These are but two recorded and reported examples. Domesticated animals cannot escape the noise and shadow flicker of wind turbines because of their restricted (fenced in) range resulting in these types of incidents.

The higher forms of wildlife such as deer, bear, moose, and many furbearers take the option of leaving the immediate area of industrial wind complexes. But by this action, they are forced into habitat that is already occupied resulting in conflicts such as over browsing and an increased rate of predation. These activities have been recorded in various locations where industrial turbine complexes have become operational. The loss of habitat due to road, transmission line, and turbine site construction also results in the loss of thousands of acres of habitat. The affects of the turbines on the lower forms of wildlife such as rodents, snakes, and even insects is an unknown to date. They all have their place in the chain of life and any single loss will affect other wildlife and also the overall environment.

The hydrology of the mountains may also be impacted by the deep bed rock blasting that is required to make the foundations for the 400+ foot tall wind turbines. This may affect our drinking water supplies and the surface waters that hold various species of life including our beloved cold water brook trout and landlocked salmon fisheries.

Fragile and rare high alpine vegetation will be destroyed by mountain top wind development. In places such as Maine, moose will be driven off the high mountains sides where many go to have the cold temperatures of winter freeze off their tick infestations that can if bad enough weaken them to the point that they may parish. The pine martin, one of the most valuable of our fur bearers thrives on mountains with heavy spruce growth. Our depleted northern deer herds will be further stressed and damaged due to the fact that the low frequency noise and construction will force them from current habitat. The use of herbicides to prevent re-vegetation may cause long term harm to wildlife, aqueduct species, and maybe our own drinking water. The possibility of forest fires will be greatly increased due to lighting strikes to the turbines and overheated gearbox lubricants igniting. This is in areas mostly far removed from any firefighting equipment and men.

The affects of industrial wind on wildlife (other than bats and birds) is not being actively researched by various federal and state fish and game departments due to several reasons, such as a lack of funding and most commonly due to political pressure where state administrations do not want anything negative being brought to light. This is because they support wind power development along with its tax incentives, stimulus monies, political gains, and of course their own long term pocket wealth over that of the welfare of wildlife. The loss of revenues generated by wildlife such as licensing fees and employment related to hunting, fishing and trapping industries which generates millions annually for the states affected by industrial wind is not in their greedy equations.

It must be noted that the scientific and medical communities are realizing the effects of low frequency noise and the strobe affect of the blades in sun light that cause mental and medical problems in humans. Even this is being contested and down played by the big wind companies with their multitude of lawyers and our greedy politicians who gain to lose face and wealth by opposing big wind. They are doing all they can to discredit those who oppose big wind. Along with that, they come into communities where they want to place commercial wind turbine complexes and buy off the local governments and tax payers with bribes of reduced electrical fees, offers to pay for lawyers to represent the local communities during negotiations, and cash settlements with private individuals who have to sign agreements not to publicly oppose them for the duration. Here in Maine we are staged to lose over 350 miles of mountain tops along with many thousands of acres of habitat. Most of the land is privately owned and the land owners cannot be blamed because of upfront monies, reduced tax burdens, and long term leases. This is all done with stimulus funding which are our federal tax monies or that borrowed by our current federal administration from foreign countries which will hurt generations of Americans for many decades. The sad part is that wind power generation is not even cost effective, nor does it reduce carbon emissions because more coal and oil fired generation plants must be built to back up wind power generation which is a variable dependent on wind. These are the basic reasons I feel that commercial wind generation is not beneficial to wild life, along with consideration of its impact to the human race.

I ask that you form your own opinion on this matter, but please educate yourself on the pro’s and con’s of this subject before forming that opinion. There are many websites that will educate one. All you need to do is search or Google industrial wind or wind turbines.

Dave Miller, Lexington TWP, ME

Dave Miller is a Maine resident, an outdoor writer and a member of the Carrabassett Valley Trappers Association.

I’m sure I will be chastised for daring to suggest that the majority of the Maine Warden Service should be funded by general tax dollars rather than by license fees paid by Maine’s outdoor sportsmen. This isn’t a commentary on how well the Maine Warden Service does its job or how necessary or not the functions that they take on are. I take no issue with the head of the Maine Warden Service, Col. Joel Wilkinson or anyone in his staff. No, really! Some of my best friends are Maine Wardens (I just had to get that in there.)

Regardless that I have taken the time to clarify what I’m not trying to do, I will be demonized because I’m suggesting a different method of funding a Maine law enforcement agency, that has grown beyond “game wardens”, to a point where enforcing game laws is not the main function of this agency, or so it appears to me. Because I oppose how the department is funded, I will be accused of having a bone to pick with the Maine Warden Service or some other ridiculous notion. Let’s get beyond that.

I reader sent me a link to an article that appeared this morning in the Kennebec Journal. The piece was about efforts undertaken by two members of the Maine Warden Service to police illegal dumping by morons on private property. Illegal dumping can be an issue in some areas and especially with strict guidelines for refuse disposal and fees attached with it. But again, this is not the issue here for me. The issue is, why are my hunting and fishing license fees being used to pay the salaries of two or more agents of the Maine Warden Service to police private property in hopes of catching the idiots who are dumping garbage there?

The article has one of the Wardens explaining it this way.

“What concerns me is, as this keeps shaping up, owners of the land will post the property so there will be loss of access for people to use it for recreation,”

That’s a commendable concern but it still doesn’t answer my question. The same sentiment could probably be found in nearly every community throughout Maine. I should also point out at this time that the article continues informing readers about the efforts underway, many through volunteers, to clean up old dump sites and better monitor areas that seem prone to illegal dumping. These efforts should be commended.

The Maine Warden Service is part of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. There once was a day when the wardens took care of poachers, checked sportsmen for licenses and enforced the fish and game laws. A visit to the website of the Warden Service and we quickly see this is not the case any longer.

Col. Wilkinson writes that things have changed in the 128 years the Maine Warden Service has been operational. He also says that “demands from the public” have increased the Service’s responsibilities. Who could disagree? The problem is, the general public, and through the State Legislature, have dumped all these demands on the Service without providing the funding to do the job. As a result, they have sucked the money out of fish and wildlife funds, license fees, etc., and wildlife management has suffered while Game Wardens are out chasing down people ignorant and uncaring enough to get rid of their garbage on private land.

In the “Mission” of the Maine Warden Service we begin to get a picture of just how the responsibilities have grown from enforcement of “fish and game” to the “protection and conservation of Maine’s natural resources” and “public safety”. Here’s a list of many of those responsibilities.

1. Search and Rescue (More than 350 search and rescue missions each year.)
2. Fish and Wildlife law enforcement
3. Recreational Vehicle law enforcement
4. Policing the Whitewater rafting industry
5. Investigation and enforcement of environmental laws

This is a broad overview and upon examination of the written purpose and function of the Service, their responsibilities are so broad they could pretty much include everything.

But probably most or all of these functions require somebody’s oversight and perhaps the Maine Warden Service is the best group to do it. But search and rescue, recreational vehicle law enforcement, patrolling dump sites, investigation of environmental law infractions and policing the whitewater rafting industry should not be paid for through fees collected by hunters, fishermen and trappers. Losing those fees are directly responsible for the loss of quality fish and game management. At a time when Maine is facing a serious whitetail deer management crisis (yes, it is a crisis) it kicks you in the guts when you read that two game wardens are spending their time monitoring a dump site. As important as it is to stop the dumping and to bring those responsible to justice, this law enforcement activity has to be paid for through general taxation.

For those who have read me before, you know where I stand on how to fund the Maine Department of Fish and Wildlife. If you would like to read more specifics, start at this link and also follow the related links at the bottom of the page.

There are some advocating that things should remain being run the way they are only that funding be shared between license and registration fees and a percentage of tax dollars. Gov. Baldacci has tried unsuccessfully to create a super department cramming fish and game, conservation and other departments all into one. I oppose both these formulas and advocate a complete restructuring of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, moving all non game programs into the Department of Conservation and/or Law Enforcement and pay for dump site monitoring, for example, through general tax money. Fish and game would be pared back to what should be their function and that’s managing the state’s fish and game. Perhaps, just perhaps, Maine wouldn’t be faced with an extirpation of whitetail deer in the northern half of the state.

Tom Remington

Photo from fOTOGLIF

If there’s ever one thing any state fish and game department needs is good public relations and for the survival of that entity it is imperative that any fish and game have the utmost of quality public relations with the sportsmen who fund their department. While the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife does many good things, they certainly have produced some lousy imagery, particularly when it comes to dealing with a whitetail deer management crisis. It is a crisis you know.

No fish and game department can be everything to everybody, nor can they satisfactorily answer everyone’s questions and concerns. But that shouldn’t stop them from trying. Maine does, however, have a deer management crisis on their hands and too often it appears the only ones who think so are the sportsmen and a few citizens who are finding out there’s a problem.

Public relations is all about image and perception. It really may not even be about facts. It is simply a matter of how the public see their fish and game department. When too many see their fish and game department in a negative light, people at the department should be scrambling around to “photoshop” that image. After all, Maine does have a whitetail deer management crisis on their hands.

Maine sportsmen began complaining about the shrinking deer herd several years ago. I know this to be a fact because my email box contained several emails from hunters telling me about the problem and wanting to know if I knew anything that MDIFW was doing about it. I wasn’t aware of the problem and to be honest with you, I kind of blew it off myself. Shame on me.

But the grumblings grew louder and then the data began supporting what the sportsmen were yelling about. Where have the deer all gone? That became the question and it remains the question until sportsmen are satisfied with an answer. It appears we’ll get no more or better answers anytime in the near future.

MDIFW had a scape goat. They quickly blamed the problem on two consecutive severe winters with deep snow packs. Convenient, yes, but sportsmen weren’t buying that as the sole reason the Northern and Eastern Maine deer herds were shrinking rapidly. The blame quickly shifted to landowners who were cutting down trees that comprise all the winter deer yards. Again, sportsmen weren’t buying that as the sole reason for a shrinking deer herd. Many, myself included, yelled and screamed about predation from coyotes/wolf hybrids, bobcats and black bears, but sportsmen didn’t accept that excuse as the sole reason. After all, there is a whitetail deer management crisis in Maine.

Unofficially, Maine accepted the tri-fecta of snow, logging and predation as the problem. None of this has stopped the questions and nobody seems to be able to satisfy the sportsmen or citizens with any real solutions. Instead, sportsmen feel they have gotten the runaround and they’ve been witness to some pretty bizarre public relations stunts that have only fueled the flames of distrust while discoloring the image.

Back in December, when the fall deer hunting season was fresh in hunters’ minds, some serious complaining began. Much of that was directed at coyotes with hunters demanding that MDIFW do something about the problem. Not only did the demands fall on deaf ears but at the time Travis Barrett, one of MDIFW’s PR guys and a blogger, responded to complaints by saying essentially that coyote predation on deer wasn’t fish and games’ problem and that if hunters didn’t like it, they could go kill themselves all the coyote they wanted.

I even said at the time that Barrett’s comments were probably truthful but as I have just said in this article, image isn’t necessarily about facts. It’s all about perception and readers saw this aloof response as uncaring, even unconcerned. After all, Maine has a whitetail deer management crisis on their hands.

Maine citizens entered the fray. In Otisfield, residents gathered in February bringing in officials from town, county and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Residents wanted questions answered about what was going to be done about coyotes killing and harassing livestock and family pets. Essentially the response they got was to learn to live with it; a complete and utter public relations disaster.

Nobody at MDIFW stepped to the front to own the problem and work on improving a declining image. A simple, “We understand! We agree! We have a crisis! We are working on it!”, would have gone a long way but I didn’t hear that. I heard more of the same – bad winters, poor habitat. Knock, knock! Maine has a whitetail deer management crisis on their hands.

The rhetoric and bantering continued. Groups began to organize. Petitions were signed demanding the governor do something. In short, sportsmen wanted answers. They weren’t getting them. Hello! Maine does have a deer management crisis on their hands.

Then a bomb drops. George Smith, Executive Director for the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, announces that he and Sen. David Trahan have discovered that Gardner Land Company cut down one of Maine’s prized winter deer yards on land they acquired from the controversial Baxter Land Swap.

There were a lot of accusations made and information shared putting MDIFW square in the middle of yet another controversy, another public relations image calamity. According to Smith, Gardner was prohibited from cutting the winter deer yard as part of the Baxter Land Swap agreement. Smith also wrote that MDIFW knew about the cutting and did nothing to stop it.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife needed to do something. Their image was suffering. With a deer management crisis on MDIFW’s hand, someone needed to step forward. They needed to reassure the sportsmen and Maine citizens that everything was under control. Instead, Commissioner Martin opts to rebut George Smith‘s “bomb drop” about Gardner Land Company cutting down the forest.

Instead of refuting all the accusations that have left many sportsmen and citizens fuming at what appears to be (image, perception) poor management and blatant incompetence, Martin manages only to tell people the deer winter yards they cut weren’t any good anyway. And in his words, he said that Gardner Land Company didn’t do anything that “IF&W wouldn’t have proposed on its own”. How reassuring! With a deer herd in Northern and Eastern Maine on the verge of extinction, one would be led to believe that an organization that continuously blames loss of habitat as one of the major causes, would see cutting any deer wintering yard as a bad thing. After all, Maine does have a whitetail deer management crisis on their hands.

Still searching for answers and leadership, Maine’s sportsmen and much of its citizenry seem more like the Israelites after Moses led them out of bondage, wandering aimlessly in the desert. As George Smith and Harry Vanderweide, the Maine Sportsman, prepare for Maine’s largest outdoor sports show, like Moses, they assure their followers that representatives of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will participate in a Q&A session so they can get their questions answered.

Billed as the “Save Our Deer Day“, it was planned that both George Smith and Harry Vanderweide would asked the tough questions of MDIFW experts and also take questions from the audience. Errrrrr, MDIFW has pulled the plug and will not participate. Yo!! Anybody at all at home in there!! Maine DOES have a whitetail deer management crisis on its hands. The mirror is cracked, the image is upside down and doesn’t even resemble the original picture.

Witness a public relations disaster! What’s up with all this? Is MDIFW guilty on all charges? Or are we just looking at a lame duck wildlife commissioner? The Commissioner’s position is an appointed one by the governor. Gov. John Baldacci is a lame duck and so is his commissioner. Is this what we are seeing?

The perceived image has become so skewed and soured that what is happening is very typical. People are left to draw their own conclusions and to keep pounding away with the questions. We are left wondering what to believe, who to listen to and who to follow.

In the meantime, I think I heard a little mouse someplace squeaking that Maine has a serious whitetail deer management crisis on their hands.

Tom Remington

George Smith, Executive Director for the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, has announced a group effort plan to help fund the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife with a portion of the general taxation. SAM is teaming up with The Nature Conservancy and the Maine Audubon seeking 1/8% of sales tax revenue to fund MDIFW.

Smith writes of how nearly one million Maine residents enjoy the benefits of the hard work done by MDIFW and yet do not pay a nickel for it. He’s correct. MDIFW is funded through license fees and federal money kicked back via the Pittman-Robertson Act. And yet, MDIFW is overburdened with non fish and game programs all funded on the backs of hunters, trappers and fishers.

Changing the funding to come from general taxation is a bad idea and I’ll explain why. First let me briefly lay out my plan for how to ease the financial burden along with the stretching thin of MDIFW personnel. Remove a majority of the non game programs that have been dumped in the lap of MDIFW and place them at the Department of Conservation or other departments where they belong. Then fund those programs with general tax dollars. This would include but not be limited to management of all non game wildlife, including plants and vegetation. Add to that endangered species protection, wildlife viewing platforms, etc. and let’s put search and rescue and snowmobile/atv law compliance into law enforcement. When the Warden Service is needed, they can bill out their services to the appropriate department.

Keeping general tax dollars out of MDIFW is essential. If Maine should opt to allow this money for funding, I guarantee, environmentalists, anti-hunting and animal rights groups will begin pounding the drum and demanding that they have representation on the MDIFW commission. Just about every state in America that has buckled to the financial pressures to find ways of funding and chose tax dollar funding, has run up against this very problem.

Here’s one state in which I’ll give you an example. New Jersey began funding it’s fish and wildlife division, which by the way was morphed into a larger Department of Environmental Protection, with tax dollars. Almost immediately animal rights and anti hunting groups demanded representation. This was a petition that was circulated there last year.

I support Assembly bill A3275 and Senate bill S2041 – legislation that will democratize, modernize and remove the corrupting influence of profit from the hunter-dominated New Jersey Fish and Game Council, the state body that has power over our wildlife.

Declaration for an Independent and Democratic Wildlife Council

We, the people of New Jersey, stand united against the NJ Fish and Game Council, for it has abused its power, has broken the law, and benefits from millions of our tax-dollars every year without giving one voice to the common man.
We seek nothing but reasonable reforms that will prepare our state for managing wildlife in the twenty-first century. We aspire to nothing more than bringing democracy to a state body that now has none.
We act for the environment, for wildlife, for the people of New Jersey and the ideal of good government, for when one special interest holds tyranny over all, only arrogance and corruption can follow.
In this cause we are unanimous and resolute: The NJ Fish and Game Council must be dramatically reformed, so that it will at last serve the interests of the many instead of the recreational hunting desires of the few.

Notice the demonizing of hunters through “profit” when their goals is to put an end to all hunting and fishing. They describe it as “modernizing” and “democratizing” wildlife management. Is this what Maine wants?

In Smith’s article he points out that $2.4 billion is raked in each season through benefits directly related to work by the MDIFW. If you want to see that amount of money shrink in a hurry, then allow the animal rights groups to get a foot in the door to limit hunting and fishing opportunities. MDIFW spends enough time now wasting valued wildlife management dollars defending senseless lawsuits brought on the state by the same groups that will be demanding representation.

I appreciate George Smith’s eagerness to find funding for MDIFW but not at the expense of the hunting, trapping and fishing heritage Maine has enjoyed for decades. I contend that we can actually grow the economic contributions to the state of Maine by shrinking MDIFW back to a fish and game department, while moving all non game programs into other departments, including Conservation and better funding those programs with the tax dollars they deserve.

The money that MDIFW generates now from license sales can then be put toward game management, which is suffering badly. With improved hunting, trapping and fishing opportunities, license sales will go up and non resident sportsmen will return to Maine to spend their valuable sports dollars.

Maine voters should seriously get all the answers and completely understand what an amendment to the Constitution would do to their hunting and fishing heritage. The quick fix to a money problem might look appealing but in the long run it may not be in the best economic interest for Maine to do this.

Tom Remington

If you’ve never had the pleasure of meeting a person I choose to call a character, you’ve missed out on some of the best things in life. Perhaps you have met one and run scared in the opposite direction. A character is someone unique, a “oner” they have been called. They are people with a different take on life, someone with a varied past.

All too often we are mired in the moment, striving to make a buck, worrying about what a neighbor might be doing to reduce your property values. I would suppose in lots of ways, we could say the world has gotten far too serious. I fear we are so far into ourselves that when the last of life’s true characters are gone, all that will be left are a few tales to tell from those who want to remember.

Last evening my wife and I went out to a nearby diner and had a bite to eat and decided, after satiated, we needed a ride in the country (it’s all relative you know). We found ourselves taking in some scenes as we slowly bumped along the Grover Hill Road eventually landing in Mason Township. For those who don’t know, Maine still has several “unorganized townships”. These are areas where there is no official town government to steal your property rights away and tell you what you can’t do with your land, etc. But don’t get too excited. The state is eager to step up to the plate and assume that role.

We took a drive up one side of the Pleasant River, past the old Mason Township School House, which now looks like it has been converted to someone’s residence. We didn’t go far and turned around. We later crossed a one lane bridge over the same river and turned left onto the King’s Highway.

I struggled trying to remember who lived where and where the old (now new, old) Grover Farm sat. It had been several years since I had been up that way. I did recall and shared with my wife a time perhaps as long as 25 years ago, that I traveled up the dead end King’s Highway to a wood lot owned then by Robert Swain of Andover. I had gotten permission to go on his lot and clean up tree tops for firewood. Mr. Swain had sent a logger in there with horses to selectively harvest some of his timber. When this is done, back then, the tops of the trees are cut off and left laying in the forest. This provided a great way for people like me to get my winter’s supply of firewood, providing I could find a willing landowner.

What I recall most of going up there is that I was warned that in the last house on the end of the road, a man lived who claimed to be a caretaker of the property. It was a charming piece of property, nestled at the foot of the White Mountains, near or bordering directly on National Forest land.

The land may have been charming but the man living there surely wasn’t. On my first trip out with a pick-up truck full of cut and split firewood, I was greeted with the hollow end of a twelve gauge shotgun. The old recluse sprung from the bushes and stood between me and my truck and my destination. I had options but none I considered under the circumstances.

It took some time to talk him into believing I was there by permission and he let me go. I told him I would be returning in an hour or so. He didn’t bother me again.

As we plugged along the Highway, we took notice of several places where the road had some washouts from all the heavy rain we have been having. As we pitched over a rise, we came upon a man and his dog. As we passed him, I waved and told my wife I thought that was Richard Grover, one of the many members of the Grover family that fills this area of Mason with years of history.

We went a few hundred yards further and turned around, knowing the road would dead end shortly. When we returned, we stopped to chat with Mr. Grover and his dog Snuffy.

I have known to some degree a few of the Grovers over the years and it can be said that most, if not all, the Grovers fall into the category of being “characters”. Richard is no exception.

While living in Florida, my wife and I visit the website of the local weekly newspaper here in Bethel. If you visit that page, look to the right under the column of “Town News”. Scroll down a bit and click on the link for “Mason”. Richard has a weekly article there. For some you’ll enjoy it. For others, you are certainly missing out.

When my son and I began opening up our websites, one of them being Maine Outdoors Today, I was looking for great Maine writings to include. I wanted to get Richard’s articles republished but had some difficulty with copyrights, so I left it alone.

However, Richard remembered I had inquired about his writing and he commenced to tell me that after his father passes, he was sure to have some very interesting stories to tell. It seems that the elder Grover doesn’t care too much to have his stories spread around.

Although I hesitate to show my eagerness to hear the stories as it would mean the passing of a good man, it is important that his stories be told and passed down. I can only hope that somehow I can be a part of that.

As we reluctantly left Richard and Snuffy to battle the black flies and mosquitoes by themselves, I said to my wife, “What’s going to happen when all the characters are gone from this life?”

After a brief discussion, we both sat in silence for a bit and headed our vehicle back toward camp, somehow feeling a bit saddened, knowing that one of life’s greatest thrills might someday be only tall tales.

Tom Remington

Below is the press release sent out from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pertaining to the results of this year’s deer harvest figures. At the end of the release, I’ll talk more about what some in Maine are saying about the dismal deer population as it relates to coyote predation.

~~~~~~~~~

2008 Deer Harvest Brought Down by Winter

AUGUSTA, Maine – The winter of 2008 was one of the worst winters for Maine’s deer population across the state. Preliminary harvest numbers of 21,062 deer represent a 27% decrease in harvest from 2007 and the lowest deer harvest since the beginning of the any-deer permit system in 1986.

The long winter, with record-setting snow packs, created extremely difficult conditions for deer, with deer yarded up on average for over 140 days statewide compared to the normal 84 days, according to Lee Kantar, deer and moose biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. During those additional 56 days resulted in extremely low overwinter survival rates for fawns, and left adult does in poor condition prior to fawning season. The poor condition of the adult does likely resulted in a high rate of mortality for the fawns born in 2008. This was evident in the dramatic decline in the fawn harvest (45%) as part of the total antlerless harvest. Fawns were just not available during the fall hunting season.

The deer harvest by season showed an overall drop in success rates across most methods.

· Youth hunters harvested 510 deer, down 52% from 1,065 in 2007 (the second best youth harvest day ever);

· October archers harvested 834 deer and expanded archers harvested 921. Last year’s archery total was 2,236. October archery was up 18% despite new restrictions on October archers in bucks-only Wildlife Management Districts.

· Blackpowder enthusiasts harvested 1,137 deer – a 42% decrease from a record-setting harvest of 1,964 deer in 2007.

· Modern firearms users harvested 17,652, down 25% from 23,537 in 2007.

More deer (2,340) were harvested in Penobscot County again this year than any other county. Other counties with more than 2,000 deer harvested were Kennebec (2,062), York (2,108) and Cumberland (2,000).

Maine residents accounted for 91% of the total statewide deer harvest with Piscataquis County having the highest harvest by non-residents (26%) of all counties. Most counties (10 out of 16) had a deer harvest by residents greater than 90%.

Hunters killed 13,566 adult bucks and 7,496 antlerless deer. The adult buck kill was a 16% decrease over the previous year while the antlerless kill was down 41% from 2007. Yearlings were more scarce than normal in 2008. This is because as fawns in 2007 they suffered high losses over the 2007-08 winter. Yearlings normally make up a higher percentage of the buck kill. In 2007, the statewide yearling harvest of bucks comprised 49% of the yearling and older buck harvest, while in 2008 it represented only 37%.

“The harsh winter of 2007-08 and its effects on Maine’s deer herd will be felt for a long time,” according to Kantar. “The current winter of 2008-09 so far looks very similar to last year and will exert additional pressure on the state’s deer herd. If this winter results in conditions similar to last year, we will need to brace ourselves for a further decrease in any-deer permits as well as a reduced harvest in 2009. A reduction in any-deer permits is needed in order to compensate for an expected high rate of winter mortality.”

IF&W wildlife biologists will be meeting in the next few weeks to determine the preliminary number of any deer permits that will be available for next year.

~~~~~~~

No one will argue that last winter was severe and took its toll on the whitetail deer herd. But is winter the only thing to blame? Northern and Eastern Maine have deer populations that have reached the point of no return. Some places in these two regions hunters are hard pressed to find one or two deer per square mile. But we can’t just keep blaming the winter. We’ve always had harsh winters and when they hit, we make necessary adjustments in harvest tactics and with any luck from Mother Nature, in a few years the herd recovers. So why have we allowed the deer herds in these areas to reach non sustainable levels?

That’s not a simple question to answer but we know there are issues – habitat and predation. We know that as long as we live in a state that has black bears, lynx, bobcat, coyotes and possibly mountain lions and wolves, we will have to deal with the predators’ destruction of the whitetail deer. But are we dealing effectively with it?

Hunters have groaned and moaned to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for a long time to do something about the dwindling deer population in Northern and Eastern Maine. There was some hope when the state formulated the Deer Task Force, made up of a diverse group (perhaps containing some who shouldn’t have sat on this board) whose job it was to make recommendations on what to do. This was enhanced by the fact that the state Legislature enacted a bill to deal with coyote predation. Some now are saying that nothing was done and nothing will be done.

Gerry Lavigne used to be the head deer guy at MDIFW. He’s retired now and some have told me that Lavigne was forced to “retire” because he was bucking the system, that he stood up to some at MDIFW and told them we needed to do something about coyote predation on whitetail deer. Recently he had this to say about the Maine deer herd.

“Early fawn survival in eastern and northern Maine is low enough to prevent population recovery, even after moderate winters. Predation, primarily by coyote and bears during the early fawning period seems to be the main cause of low fawn recruitment in eastern and northern Maine.”

Read for a minute what Levigne is saying. First he is saying that the deer population in Northern and Eastern Maine is beyond recovery. That means it can no longer sustain on its own. The numbers are too low. If this is true, how can any responsible fish and game department have allowed this to happen?

Lavigne is also saying that it is the predation of coyote and bears that’s destroying the deer. This statement seems to run contrary to what is being fed the public from MDIFW. There is little talk of predation and all the focus seems to be on the harsh winters.

It is not a popular topic when discussions surround the need to slaughter overgrown populations of coyote or any other predator that’s destroying an ecosystem. Look at the controversy that has surrounded Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin with their predator control program. So far Alaska has fought successfully against the animal rights groups because they believe in the necessity of what they are doing.

Popular or not, it is the responsibility of fish and game to take care of this problem. Many are angry and asking why hasn’t something been done? Is it too late as Lavigne suggests?

V. Paul Reynolds, editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal, says we, the Maine sportsmen, have been “hoodwinked again”.

That’s right, Maine sportsmen – apparently an easily beguiled group – have been let down once again by the agency that collects and expends our hunting and fishing license fees. We now know that all this talk about coyote control was just that – talk and no action. Did the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife ever really have any intention of establishing a coyote management program? It would appear not. So we must conclude that assembling all of these deer task forces and predator control working groups was merely a political ploy to divert attention, turn down the heat, and buy some time.

Evidently the licensed hunters in the state of Maine don’t scare MDIFW as much as the animal rights groups and environmentalists. It is our license dollars that pay their wages and allows for them to “manage” wildlife. I thought IFW got the message loud and clear when Governor Baldacci ordered, after a lot of complaining, the formulation of the Deer Task Force. Then many of us felt encouraged when the Maine Legislature ordered the MDIFW to come up with a Coyote Management Plan. After all this, MDIFW makes a recommendation to formulate another working group to study the problem.

How much more will the hunters in Maine take? Nearly every licensed hunter I know has told me they would gladly pay a reasonable fee increase if they knew the money was being spent the right way and most of all to continue to provide hunting opportunities. I agree with Reynolds. We’ve been had! We are tired of our money supporting animal rights agendas!

Trappers that I have spoken with have made no bones about the fact that they can no longer effectively trap coyote once the animal rights groups were successful in banning the snare trap. Trappers used to set snares all around winter deer yarding areas where the coyote prey on the weakened and young deer. No longer. Under the lie of protecting a lynx population, the snare was outlawed.

Nearly every action against Maine brought by animal rights has only resulted in Maine making endless concessions and where has this left our deer herd? If MDIFW believes in the science they use in wildlife management, then it is time that they stand up in support of their own methods. But it appears they are scared. Maybe there are too many animal rights wildlife biologists who have infiltrated the MDIFW. This is happening all across America. I see it everyday.

I’m not sure how much it will take to really anger the hunting community. Maybe this isn’t enough. Maybe they don’t care any longer. If so, the anti-hunters, animal rights activists and environmentalists are winning the battle against us.

What are licensed hunters supposed to think when they continue to spend millions and millions of dollars for wildlife conservation and what we are now seeing is the result spending that money catering to the nonpaying population making all the demands against hunting and trapping. We now have a whitetail deer population in peril because of it.

I suppose it is now time to declare the whitetail deer in Northern and Eastern Maine endangered. If this was a native brook trout population in one of Maine’s famous trout ponds, efforts would be put forth to slaughter every invasive fish there that was destroying the brook trout. If Maine can slaughter hundreds of thousands of fish from a body of water to “reclaim” it, why can’t they justify fighting for the means to allow for the killing of coyotes that are destroying our deer?

Isn’t that what needs to be done now? It would be a start!

Tom Remington

Americans are guaranteed under the United States Constitution to be able to work hard and make a living. As this country spirals deeper and deeper into a form of European-style socialism, individual rights, including the right to prosper, are being yanked out from under American citizens for no good reason.

The state of Maine has become the target of animal rights groups for years. Maine, once a staunchly independent state, continues to morph into a land very attractive to secular progressives bent on the destruction of the liberties fought and died for in this country.

Maine has several deer, elk and bison ranches scattered across the state. A handful of those ranches offer anyone who has the interest, a chance to shoot one of these critters. This action has been dubbed the name of high-fence hunting. Once again a group of Maine lawmakers has put together a bill proposal that would repeal Chapter 202-A of Maine law, effectively banning the shooting of any of these animals on private land.

High-fence hunting has been the target of controversy in several states. The arguments used against ranch or preserve hunting are weak and misleading. In states that have been successful in winning the war against the animal rights activists have done so because they were able to get the truth to the voters. Maine will be no different. The truth must be made known.

History has shown us in this battle for private property rights that once voters are given the facts and understand the truth that exists, Americans win. In this case, Mainers are going to have to contact their state representatives and tell them not to be lured into this rights-stripping bill.

Don’t let anyone try to convince you that this is NOT a case of protecting constitutional rights. It is clearly that. Those fighting to stop ranch hunting hide behind hunting ethics, animal cruelty and often whip up a scare or two over disease. None of these excuses stand up to rational scrutiny.

Hunting ethics is extremely subjective, it’s a personal perspective, all guided with the rules that govern the sport. Those rules are crafted from the need to properly manage the game animals and provide for public safety.

We too often hear that fair chase hunting ethics is of the biggest concern to both hunters and non-hunters. While ethics certainly is important and is a integral part of what shapes our sport, it is far from a leading candidate of what is endangering hunting. Land access, costs, and available time to be in the field are the three major events that cause more damage to the sports of hunting and fishing than anything else.

When we begin legislating ethics, that is when individuals are attempting to set the moral standards by how others should live. Is that what we want? In all honesty if a handful of Maine legislators believes hunting on a game preserve is unethical, then we would have to just as honestly ask, why pick on preserve hunting? Shouldn’t be ban smoking? Shouldn’t we shut down bars, topless dance clubs, and remove any and all questionable magazines from our newsstands? How much more can we add to this list?

The truth is there is no real clear and necessary reason to stop a private citizen from trying to find a way to make a living by the utilization of his own land to raise domestic livestock and harvest it in the manner he would choose. LD 560 is nothing more than the effort of a handful of Maine lawmakers to push their personal ideals onto others. Join the fight to stop this attack on our rights. It’s not about whether you approve or disapprove of high-fence hunting. Do you want to be a part of the ethics Nazis? This is about rights…..your rights as a free American.

Mark Luce is owner of Hindsite Hunt Preserve in Newport, Maine. Mark is seeking the help and support of other who place value on property rights and our hunting heritage.

As a preserve owner in Maine who has made a substantial investment to keep our land in agriculture we are being attacked once again. The harvesting of these animals is far more humane than trucking the same animals to a slaughter facility. Those who speak negative about preserves do so with propaganda supplied to them by the anti hunting groups.

At a time when jobs are scarce and money is tight these antis want to put us out of business. They have submitted a bill, L.D. 560 to ban our preserves. This only the tip of the iceberg re: there true mission..BAN ALL HUNTING!

We as Preserve Owners would appreciate any support from the public that we can muster. Write your local Rep, our Governor and attend the public hearing.

Mark Luce has operated a first class business for several years and has invested huge sums of money looking for a return that will help pay for his economically stressed business. He pays $1,000.00 a year for his license and $25 for each animal that is harvested. The facility is inspected each year and Mark has to pay to have each animal taken tested for disease, including chronic wasting disease.

Luce tells me that he is one of the smaller facilities in the state and his feeding costs now run $680.00 every 10 days. He offers his hunts, as do many of the ranch owners, as a means of generating much needed revenue.

Often lost in these kinds of debates is the fact that Mark Luce is an American. He’s a human being with family trying to eke out a living just like everyone else. It is appalling that anyone, including lawmakers, often with their holier-than-thou attitudes, introduce bills that will legislate a family right out of business.

I helped the Idaho Elk Breeders Association fight similar attacks a few years ago. While I immediately saw through the deceitful tactics of those trying to shut down the elk industry in Idaho, it wasn’t until I traveled to Idaho and met with some of the people and their families did it really come home to roost for me. These are good Americans. Hard working people, some who have lost family members fighting to keep America free from the dictatorial efforts of some bent on the destruction of our freedom. Help do your part. Get involved now!

Sponsors and cosponsors of this bill are:

Sponsored By: Representative CASAVANT of Biddeford
Cosponsored By: Representative BOLAND of Sanford
Representative EBERLE of South Portland
Senator GERZOFSKY of Cumberland
Representative GILES of Belfast
Representative MAZUREK of Rockland
Senator NUTTING of Androscoggin
Representative ROTUNDO of Lewiston
Representative RUSSELL of Portland
Representative TRINWARD of Waterville

Get on the phone now! Call these people and your own representative. Call the governor’s office. Tell them you support the freedoms and liberties of Americans and that you believe Mark Luce and all the other preserve owners have a legal right to ranch deer, elk and bison and that they can decide how their livestock will be harvested.

Tom Remington

It all makes little sense to me. Maine, like just about every other state in the Union is looking at ways to cut the budget and Maine’s Gov. John Baldacci insists on targeting the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. At least 90% of the budget is paid for through license fees and reimbursed taxes paid through Pittman-Robertson. Only recently did the Maine legislature cough up any money to assist MDIFW. Budget constraints on the Department have come mostly due to the demands placed on it for services outside fish and game (oh, sorry! Fish and Wildlife. That changed a few years back), yet those taking advantage of those services pay little or nothing.

Now Gov. Baldacci is seeking a license fee increase and he seems determined to either get the increase or merge the fish and wildlife into one huge natural resources entity, of which nobody wants to see. An article by Kevin Miller of the Bangor Daily News says that Baldacci is threatening sportsmen to either accept the fee increase or he’ll merge the departments.

Baldacci spokesman David Farmer stressed that the consolidation proposal is being put forward as an alternative to higher user fees. If the sporting community can live with the fee increases, then the consolidation proposal goes nowhere,

Sure sounds like a threat to me.

Generally speaking sportsmen are content to pay reasonable fee increases when they can see value for their dollar. What’s getting really old is paying extra for the license in order to pay for things that have nothing to do with hunting, fishing and trapping. Maine has to find a way to make up the shortfall by collecting fees from those who use and don’t pay, admittedly a difficult task.

I can assure you though that consolidating departments and morphing Inland Fisheries and Wildlife into a huge natural resources kind of department would be the biggest mistake Maine could make. Just look around at the states who have. First and foremost, it saves no money but more importantly two things happen.

One, fish and game doesn’t get the attention it needs. Monies are moved around and license fees continue to escalate in order to pay for more non-game activities and services. This results in the second problem. Time and again when talking with other sportsmen in other states and even looking at surveys taken, one of the biggest complaints by sportsmen who have stopped buying a license is that they feel they have no say anymore with fish and game.

Where once sportsmen organized into clubs in order to have input into the management of game no longer exists to the same degree. Ask any sportsman and they’ll not give a real positive impression of their own fish and game departments. On top of that bury the fish and wildlife into a huge, bureaucratic nightmare of a “superagency” and what little confidence left gets further eroded to efforts of futility, devaluing the experience and rendering a license purchase a waste of time and money.

Maine Senator David Trahan, (R) Waldoboro, who sits on the Fish and Wildlife Committee says he wants people to know “Over my dead body”.

“I’m not interested in having this discussion about consolidating these agencies into one,” said Sen. Dave Trahan, R-Waldoboro, a member of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee. “I just want people to know that. My position is ‘Over my dead body.’”

George Smith, Executive Director for the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, says he opposes both of the governor’s proposals.

SAM’s executive director, George Smith, has promised to fight both proposals to increase fees or merge the agencies. Smith and other several other speakers said the state needs to find a way to get kayakers, hikers and other outdoor recreation enthusiasts to help pay for the services that game wardens and DIF&W biologists provide.

The chairman of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, Bruce Bryant (D) Oxford, also thinks Maine has to find ways to get those utilizing services to pay to play.

Sportsmen complain about the fee increases. Others don’t because they enjoy the benefits bought and paid for by the sportsmen and yet these same free loaders are making much of the demand for bigger and better services.

There is one thing that is certain. We can get mad at the governor. We can berate the fish and game department but if we don’t stop placing demands for more and bigger, how can we expect to keep fees down? Granted our departments have to hold the line on spending but at the same time we need to stop demanding.

Tom Remington

Many Americans believe that being in the outdoors is what makes their lifestyles so remarkable and frankly, having grown up that way, I just don’t know what I would do if I lost the freedom to do that anymore.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. This lifestyle is being threatened. Ask yourself who you would rather have looking out for your interests in these matters, someone who is one of us or someone with little if any experience in outdoor affairs, namely hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, boating, ATVing, horseback riding, rock hounding, canoeing, kayaking and the list goes on?

As we rapidly approach November 4, 2008, Election Day, I encourage everyone to get out and vote. This may be the most critical election ever to face our nation and you need to be a part of it.

If you are anything like me, where the outdoors is more of a part of my life than indoors, I have to seriously consider who I want leading the way. John McCain is an outdoor sportsman. He is a fisherman and doesn’t pretend to be something that he’s not. He has selected a running mate in Sarah Palin that doubles the draw of the ticket.

The Sportsmen for McCain website says McCain supports your interests.

“John McCain understands that hunters and anglers are the first conservationists and without them, conservation as we know it will cease to exist. John McCain recognizes the importance of recruiting the next generation of hunters and anglers as well as maintaining those currently in our ranks. John McCain believes in multiple uses of public lands and knows that the revenue generated by the licenses and gear that we purchase is the life blood of state wildlife agencies.”

Our Endangered Species Act has been so far twisted out of shape it has lost its ability to protect the species we want to have long into our future. Who better to lead than someone with a real understanding of what proper wildlife management is. McCain is someone who knows that it is the outdoor sportsmen that make it possible for him to go fishing when he can.

I have to believe that one of the reasons John McCain recruited Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate, is because who else can have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the outdoors than the governor of the state that labels itself as “The Last Frontier”.

Having a grip on the importance of our outdoor heritage is huge. This directly affects tens of millions of Americans. Outdoor issues shouldn’t be overlooked in this election. Putting the future of our heritage in the wrong hands can gravely impact how we live as Americans.

Both McCain and Palin have track records on where they stand and what they have done to protect our heritage. Obama and Biden pale in comparison and have yet to show that they even care. Don’t hope for the best, when the best is right before you.

For more information on Sportsmen for McCain, visit their website.

Tom Remington